Recent Posts

11351

General Software Discussion / Re: Do you keep two computers synchronized? i.e. work + home. If so, how?

« Last post by 40hz on September 17, 2008, 01:11 PM »

I want to have my entire 'data' partition synchronized at work + home.
Ideally more than 2 computerx should be possible.

The idea I have in mind is to have a central server that contains the latest copy of everything, and then clients that grab stuff from the server on a timely basis (e.g., hourly).

-urlwolf (September 17, 2008, 11:06 AM)

If it's your own business, and you're using Windows Server, you're already set to go. Set up users to have roaming profiles and host the home directory on a network drive. Then you can log on using any machine on your network (or connect remotely) and much like Moby Dick, your files will rise to meet you.

You can also invoke the "make files available offline" option for mobile PCs. Whenever you log in (or out or both depending on how you set it up) all files in the specified directories will be synchronized.

If that's overkill, (or you're talking about a home network) give Allway Sync a try.

http://www.allwaysync.com/

Set up a directory on whatever you're using as a server and use that as your central storage point. Use AllwaySync to keep things synchronized. Combine that with one of the web backup services like Drop Box to create an "offsite failsafe" and you'll be better protected than some businesses I know.

BTW: Make sure your system clocks are also kept in sync. File timestamps are absolutely critical when you're synchronizing files.

 

Why is it so freaking difficult/risky to sync two pst files?

-Darwin (September 17, 2008, 12:07 PM)

Primarily because a pst file is a database rather than a simple collection of individual message files. Your Outlook e-mail application enforces its own internal integrity and structure checks on the database. Hard to tell exactly how Outlook tracks things, but I would assume it hashes the pst file periodically and stores the result internally. It then checks the latest hashkey when it opens the pst file. If there's a mismatch, it knows some other app has changed the pst file. Outlook tends to view any changes made to pst by outside programs as file corruption.  So to do it correctly, Microsoft would need to provide some sort of "smart merge" feature for pst files. And  I doubt MS will be in any rush to provide that feature since it would remove some of the rationale for needing to buy MS Exchange.

11352

Mobysaurus / Re: Congratulations?

« Last post by 40hz on September 17, 2008, 12:11 PM »

Wow. That has to be one of the most unusual first posts I've ever read.

So...umm..congratulations on your first post here at DC!

11353

General Software Discussion / Re: I am looking for system wide proxy changer-configurator

« Last post by 40hz on September 16, 2008, 08:35 PM »

 I use NetSetMan Pro on my laptop. It's not free (€12/$18 US) but it's very reasonable for what it does. There is a free version, but it doesn't handle proxy settings or domains. You can set up as many network profiles as you like and switch activate them at will. Each can be set up totally independently of the others. Perfect tool for road warriors and tech support people who need to keep specific network setups for each of their client's locations. You can even specify a default browser for those benighted locations (i.e. many banks) that require you to use IE.

http://www.netsetman...m/index.php?s=nsmpro

Btw please do not suggest things like "google is your friend".

Yeah, I hear you. That one's right up there with RTFM as far as helpfulness goes.

11354

General Software Discussion / Re: looking for...a wiki?

« Last post by 40hz on September 16, 2008, 08:10 PM »

Wiggio looks pretty nice. But the disclaimers in their privacy policy would make me a little concerned about what company information I'd put up there.

To be fair, their policy isn't all that different than many online collaboration offerings.

What does bother me, however is the fact that they interface with various 3rd parties who pay Wiggio for access to its non-paying user base.

Wiggio is very careful to point out they have no control over their partner's actions. Nor does Wiggio require that any of these unidentified 3rd parties adhere to Wiggio's privacy policies. In fact, they wash their hands of anything their partners may get up to:

This privacy policy covers the use of cookies by Wiggio and does not cover the use of cookies or other tracking technologies by any of its advertisers.

Something about that would make me think twice. If I decided to go with a web-based solution, I'd feel safer if I were paying for the service. The Wiggio revenue stream is too dependent on entities other than it's actual users for me feel comfortable using it for business purposes.

11355

General Software Discussion / Re: List of newbie questions regarding software

« Last post by 40hz on September 16, 2008, 07:37 PM »

re: Writing

Thanks for the info on Compendium. I've downloaded it and I'm putting it through it's paces. A very interesting application to say the least, even if you need to install MySQL to use it. Now that I've played with Compendium and gotten a feel for it's methodology I'm beginning to see the potential for a lot future use. A definite find!

BTW: The reason I couldn't originally download Compendium was because Google directed me to Compendium-TA by mistake. Compendium-TA is an outliner. Their website can be found at: www.compendiumdev.co.uk/compendium-ta/default.php

(And yes, the download links for that app are still broken.  Boo hiss!!!  )

In the meantime, you might want to take a look at Papel. Papel is a free-form note taking and organizing tool that uses a desktop-like metaphor.

Publisher's Description
A new software tool designed for authors of fictional stories. It allows you to write creatively and intuitively without logical tasks interfering with the flow of your ideas.

Rather than using lists and tables to keep track of the various parts of your writing project, it works visually, just as Windows does.

You simply create new papels in the main project window, name them and set their type (described below). Papels are easily identifiable, as each type has it´s own icon, and the descriptive name you gave it is displayed with it.

Papel allows you to keep track of all the scraps of writing you create along the way, and instantly reminds you of what goes where by the way you group them in your project. Papels can be moved around with your mouse, renamed, and the type changed if you wish. Once everything is ready for publishing, you simply import the text files into your word processor for final formatting to the desired publishing standard.

Features:

    * Visual on-screen representation of your writing project sections.
    * Drag & Drop interface for easy grouping of related pieces of work, notes, etc.
    * Individual icons for each piece of work, including Chapter, Scene, Male Character, Female Character, Plot Outline, Dialogue, and Note.
    * Simple papel naming system, with automatic file saving under the given name.
    * Find, Replace, Word Count,Spell Checking & Thesaurus in editor.
    * Multi-sizeable project window with up to 8 times your screen size.
    * Configurable and saveable Editor font and size.
    * Saveable default Application and Editor window positions.

Downloading Papel can get a little tricky since the product's homepage seems to have gone missing recently.
This download link does work however:

http://download.free...iles/Papel_Setup.exe

11356

Living Room / Re: The Office of the Future: Can you exercise and work at the same time?

« Last post by 40hz on September 15, 2008, 11:55 AM »

Notice two  things?

1. Who came up with it:

This one was created by a Mayo Clinic endocrinologist.

2. Notice what it addressed:

Removing chairs and traditional desk seating;
Introducing walking tracks;
Educating and encouraging staff to conduct walking meetings;
Replacing traditional phones with mobile sets;
Adding desks attached to treadmills;
Introducing games in the workplace;
Providing high-tech activity monitors; and
Advising staff about nutrition.

Notice what this brainstorm missed:

1. Any input from the lab rats...err...employees about what they might think about the arrangement. (There are such things as labor unions; professional associations; and people that don't like to live their lives at the gym.)

2. Any thought as to what tasks the employees are performing to earn their company some money? I'd love to be troubleshooting a network outage that required my complete concentration while standing on a treadmill. Or nailing down some tech issue that has political overtones while walking around with six department heads who are each trying to protect their turf.

3. What about all those smart people with physical disabilities. Would they be able to work in a company whose culture places such an emphasis on being physical? Would they even be hired to begin with?

An interesting article. But once again, a medical doctor looks at a complex human issue, reduces it to a medical problem within his specialty, and ignores everything else. That's what doctors are trained to do. And it shouldn't be construed as a fault. Focus is what makes a doctor a good doctor.

And also why we seldom put MDs in charge of anything!

11357

Living Room / Re: Would you surf porn in a public space?

« Last post by 40hz on September 13, 2008, 10:46 PM »

Yes but only because I read mostly adult fiction rather than browse for images. At the worse, you can find me skipping through the sex scenes of an English translated Doujn like I was bored and looking for a plot.

-Paul Keith (September 12, 2008, 07:20 PM)

I agree. The brain is the only real erogenous zone. Everything else is merely acrobatics and plumbing.

Reminds me of an older guy I worked with one summer when I was in high school. One of the "young bucks" was eyeballing a copy of Penthouse. When he saw the older guy, he held up the magazine and said "Check this out!"

The older guy glanced over briefly before he lit his cigarette and got a cup of coffee. "Why show me?" he said. "I've seen better - and had worse."

11358

General Software Discussion / Re: looking for...a wiki?

« Last post by 40hz on September 13, 2008, 10:17 PM »

Take a look at these collaboration suites:

Mindquarry at www.mindquarry.com/do

Kablink at www.kablink.org

Neither are toys, but any moderately competent IT type should be able to get things up and running fairly easily. Might be overkill for what you want to do.

If you're running Microsoft Small Business Server you can always take advantage of the SharePoint features.

For a low-tech approach, you could just use Post-it Notes. Find a stickable surface (a glass window in the conference area is one possibility) that can be divided into organizational and functional areas and have at it!

Note: if you ever do get a whiteboard, try using it in conjunction with Post-Its. Stuff you may want to rearrange goes on the Post-It. Use the markers to draw lines and grouping boxes around individual Post-Its to show relationships, etc. Best of both worlds when you do it that way!

11359

General Software Discussion / Re: List of newbie questions regarding software

« Last post by 40hz on September 13, 2008, 09:49 PM »

Compendium for outlining. Tree-based hierarchies just don't do it for me. I feel more at home with a structure I can pattern myself.

-Paul Keith (September 13, 2008, 04:18 AM)

Thanks for mentioning that. I thought I knew every outliner out there, but this is a new one for me. 

I webbed over to their homepage, and while I was happy to see that they have since released Compendium as a free product, the download links no longer work. You get a 404 no matter what. I tried e-mailing, hoping that maybe this is a temporary case of a bad link on the site.

From the feature list (it has a few unique ones), Compendium may be the general outliner application I've been looking for.

Fingers crossed...

Woah man, very nice! I'm jealous. Always wanted a space large enough to host a library but I couldn't afford it.

-Paul Keith (September 13, 2008, 04:18 AM)

Don't be overly impressed. Library is a bit of a misnomer. It more closely resembles a medieval monastery book collection than your local public library.

I do have a nice little office area with several shelves of books neatly arranged and within arm's reach. But the bulk of the "library" is spread promiscuously throughout the rest of my living space. There are piles and rows of books in every available room and storage space.

The thing that makes this arrangement work for me is a very nice little library program from Norway called BookCAT. It's published by FNProgramvare.  ( www.fnprg.com ) Complete documentation and a fully functional evaluation copy are available for download.

BookCAT is a powerful book collector database program which will help you catalog a book collection of any size. BookCAT is used by book-lovers, schools, churches, clubs, and business libraries. Using BookCAT you can quickly catalog your books by downloading information from the Internet. BookCAT will help you track what you have in your library, where it is (including books out on loan) and the total value of your collection.

BookCAT has a comprehensive set of fields, enabling you to catalog a wide range of information: author, title, publisher, ISBN number, publish date, number of pages, editor, original title, translator, binding, edition, type of book (fiction, non-fiction, etc.), category and sub-category, purchase date and price, current value, condition, status (own, want, for sale), personal rating, owner, location, keywords, awards and nominations, comments, synopsis, reviews, and more.

Other features include customized entry fields, a loan module (to keep track of books on loan), flexible searching, a report designer, more than 80 pre-defined report formats, a HTML generator, a sample data base to get you started, pop-up menus for quick feature access and navigation, and comprehensive context-sensitive on-line documentation available at the touch of a button.

About a year ago I bit the bullet and got my entire collection entered into BookCAT.

I was motivated to do so by two separate 'incidents'. The first was the discovery that several irreplaceable books I owned were missing. I vaguely remembered loaning some of them out, but I couldn't even begin to recall to whom or when. (I'm suffering from the early stages of an affliction called AGE.) The other 'incident' was my discovering that I had duplicate copies of a dozen or so fairly expensive books (SAMS and O'Reilly titles!). Apparently, I bought, forgot I owned, and then re-bought some books! Not the most cost effective way to do things.

Getting the books entered took about two weeks of parttime effort with me crawing from place to place with my laptop and a cup of coffee when I had nothing better to do. It wasn't as big a chore as it could have been because the program supports online information lookups using the ISBN number. Pop in the ISBN and you can download all the publisher details into your database.

Using a database for a book collection is liberating. Retrieval is the critical issue - not storage. Once you have a reliable reference and location tool, the whole issue of physical storage and organization becomes almost moot.

Now it no longer matters where I put a book - or who I loaned it to. I can even keep my lesser used titles in numbered boxes up in the attic. And they don't even need to be organized or categorized before they get put away. Titles can be shelved, stored, and stashed at will. I can find any title quite quickly as long as I keep its current location updated in the database.

One interesting feature: BookCAT uses MS Access as its database. The documentation that comes with the program gives full details on the database table structure. This allows for extensive customization of the application should you have sufficient expertise using Access.

A fine program. Not free, but at $40 US it's very reasonable. Highly recommended.

11360

Living Room / Re: Would you surf porn in a public space?

« Last post by 40hz on September 13, 2008, 11:15 AM »

Blogger Dave Simmer has the opposing view, in Who Asked You, B*tch? on reading Maxim magazine in public.

-zridling (September 12, 2008, 07:00 PM)

If this foul-mouthed and infantile diatribe is the best rebuttal Dave Simmer could come up with, he's in worse shape than the woman who told him off to begin with.

There's few things more pitiful to observe than some late 40-something guy trying to come across as a 20-something hipster.

Responding to jerks by acting like one doesn't accomplish anything other than to play into the hands of the self-righteous zealots.

I would probably read FHM or Maxim in public though... if I didn't think they were lame, boring, childish and sucky excuses for people who don't have the guts to purchase a real pr0n magazine.

-f0dder (September 13, 2008, 07:33 AM)

Sucky excuses? Don't have the guts?

Wow! You almost make purchasing a magazine containing eye-candy sound like it's a competitive sport - or a political statement of some sort! 

11361

General Software Discussion / Re: List of newbie questions regarding software

« Last post by 40hz on September 12, 2008, 07:33 PM »

re: Writing Tools

eeeek! Can't believe someone hasn't has mentioned Storybook yet! It's free and open source.

http://storybook.int...e=home&g_lang=en

Curt had a post sometime back about it:
https://www.donation....msg103468#msg103468

I found Storybook's interface and methodology to be a little cumbersome. But there are two people in my writer's group that think it's the best thing to happen since White-Out. MBW trying out. 

I'm currently in the process of getting my arms around Liquid Story Binder. I got a free copy a while back. I really want to like this app. Consequently, I'm putting a lot more effort into using it than I normally would for this type of software. My usual procedure for selecting writing software is to give the candidate app about a week's worth of exercise. If it seems useful - and it doesn't encounter any showstopper issues - I'll usually keep it. Otherwise the superb Revo Uninstaller makes it's appearance, and the little bugger is history.

Some things I like about Liquid Story Binder are:

   Can be run from a USB (I'm big on portable apps.)
   Uses non-proprietary file types (RFT,TXT,etc. Great for sharing with my Mac & Linux cohorts.)
   Nice outlining features (Do all my brainstorming in outlines)
   Full screen minimalist editor (aka WebMonkey - one of my favs)

and finally
   
   That drop-dead gorgeous (to my eyes anyway) interface. It invariably turns a few heads whenever I'm out someplace. Perfect for striking up tech conversations; or (to return to our previous 'searching' discussion) breaking the ice with that random attractive intellectual type seated across from you. (We get inspired and motivated however we can! )

LSB gathers so many neat things under one roof that I am really bent on using if I possibly can.

In case you're interested, my current Writer's Suite is:

Software:

  - Dramatica Pro - IMHO the single best piece of software for writing that's out there

  - WebMonkey - the ultimate no-frill first draft editor

  - PowerWriter - a writer's outliner on steroids

  - Microsoft Office Word - the ubiquitous text tool

  - FinalDraft - the sui generis script formatter. (No point fighting it. It's what gets used in 'the biz.' )

  - SEO Note - yet another tree-based notes organizer. (I just happen to like this one.)

  - PrimoPDF - Your basic PDF generator. Adobe Acrobat without the tariff!

  - FileHamster - version control for when you don't need something as powerful as Subversion

  - Allway Sync Portable - folder synchronization tool. Perfect for USB flash drives.

  - USB Disk Ejector - excellent utility. The safest, easiest  way to unmount your flash drives.

  - A drawer full of reference CD/DVDs (dictionaries, encyclopedias, e-books, etc.)

  - Dragon Naturally Speaking - voice recognition software. (See my caveats in earlier post above)

Non-software:

  - My home library - as you might guess, I have a huge number of books!

  - Digital voice recorder

  - A ring full of 2 & 4 GB USB flash drives. One project per drive for when I'm on the road.

  - A big box of index cards of various colors

  - 3 Corkboards (homemade) and a big box of pushpins

  - The biggest magnetic whiteboard I could afford

  - Post-It Notes - used in conjunction with a whiteboard, it's an unbeatable combination

  - Pilot G5 gel pens in various colors. (IMHO the best pens in the world!)

  - Gevalia Coffee - my favorite poison. Ridiculously expensive. (and worth every penny as far as I'm concerned!)

Wetware:

  - A bunch of 'writerly' friends - to bounce things off (and share a Guiness with)

and

  - Alexis - my Blast-proof BS Detector and personal 'reality check'

Wish list:

  - One of those new subnotebooks to replace my aging Compaq laptop.

My current favorite is the MSI Wind. (What I actually end up getting will be determined by what's out there when I finally get around to buying one. I've been dropping hints since the holiday season is coming up. Be interesting to see if anybody takes the bait. )

So there you have it!

11362

General Software Discussion / Re: How do you manage your email?

« Last post by 40hz on September 12, 2008, 05:45 PM »

They've been taking about the Paperless Office of the Future since the early 1970's.

Personally, I think that's about as likely as a Paperless Bathroom. 

-40hz (September 11, 2008, 09:49 PM)

That joke takes me back, if not to the early 1970's, at least to 1981, when I heard a DEC engineer use it in a speech at a CP/M-86 conference. I've been using it ever since.

-xtabber (September 12, 2008, 02:32 PM)

Does anybody know who first came up with that phrase? I've used it many times and I'd love to be able to give credit where credit's due.

11363

Living Room / Re: Looking for a few good puns

« Last post by 40hz on September 12, 2008, 05:43 PM »

I always liked this one:

"Time wounds all heels."

(Would that it were always true. )

11364

Living Room / Re: Has the LHC destroyed the world yet?

« Last post by 40hz on September 12, 2008, 03:09 PM »

It has. You are now in a parallel alternate universe exactly like the one you were in before they fired up the LHC.

-40hz (September 11, 2008, 10:47 AM)

Not fair, that was going to be my answer

-Lashiec (September 12, 2008, 01:26 PM)

Sorry. I quasi-stole it from Douglas Adams.

11365

General Software Discussion / Re: How do you manage your email?

« Last post by 40hz on September 12, 2008, 11:00 AM »

Personally, I think that's about as likely as a Paperless Bathroom. 

-40hz (September 11, 2008, 09:49 PM)

In many countries and regions the paperless bathroom is very real, my friend. 

-Armando (September 11, 2008, 10:46 PM)

Perhaps. But I very much doubt that was by design.

11366

Living Room / Re: Jeddai Knight training!

« Last post by 40hz on September 12, 2008, 10:41 AM »

In the US, you wouldn't be able to legally offer that free beer till their 3rd or 4th year, in most cases. (legal drinking age is 21)

-app103 (September 11, 2008, 10:56 PM)

May soon be moot.

In an effort to combat the widespread problem of underage drinking on American campuses, several university Deans have now asked our Legislators to lower the drinking age to 18. Several congressmen have expressed an interest discussing the idea. Apparently, the new strategy is to redefine the problem in such a manner as to make it simply disappear.

I seem to recall Mr. Orwell had a bit to say about that sort of thing. 

P.S. I wish I could pretend to be surprised about Buffy and tea reading courses in American universities. But I live in the States, so I'm not. Disgusted maybe. But not at all surprised. What does surprise me is that the rot now seems to be spreading 'across the pond.'

IMHO That is truly alarming news!

11367

Living Room / Re: Looking for a few good puns

« Last post by 40hz on September 11, 2008, 11:14 PM »

"These are souls that try men's times."

11368

Living Room / Re: Looking for a few good puns

« Last post by 40hz on September 11, 2008, 10:53 PM »

In ancient Rome there was a farmer named Marius Agricola who was famous for growing the finest strawberries in the Empire. One morning he went into his garden and was amazed to see a strawberry that had grown to be twelve feet in girth! After making sacrifice in honor of the gods who gave him such a gift, he called all the townsfolk to come and admire this miraculous fruit.

All who saw this berry loudly praised both the fruit and the farmer, for both had obviously received the blessing of the gods.

But the farmer's happiness was destined to be short lived, for news soon reached the jealous Emperor Nero, who immediately put into action steps to claim the giant strawberry as his own. A dozen Praetorian Guards were quickly dispatched.

When they arrived at the hapless farmer's house, the trembling man politely enquired as to the purpose of their visit to his humble home.

With a sneer, the Captain of the guard stepped forth and proclaimed in a loud voice:

"I have come to seize your berry - not to praise it."

11369

Living Room / Re: Jeddai Knight training!

« Last post by 40hz on September 11, 2008, 10:14 PM »

The university says it hopes to attract young Star Wars fans and introduce them to education through open learning.

If that's the student demographic they're going after, why get so fancy?

If I were running that school, I'd just keep the old curriculum and offer free beer.

Bet I'd get twice as many enrollments too! 

11370

General Software Discussion / Re: How do you manage your email?

« Last post by 40hz on September 11, 2008, 09:49 PM »

My guess is that, in a few years... paper won't be supported anymore.

-Armando (September 11, 2008, 06:17 PM)

Got a specific date in mind by any chance?

They've been taking about the Paperless Office of the Future since the early 1970's.

Personally, I think that's about as likely as a Paperless Bathroom. 

Check it out : tomorrow I'll lose everything and I'll cry and wish some of it was printed... or maybe I'll just seize the occasion and make a fresh existential start.  smiley what would I become...?

Possibly incarcerated if it's tax information. Definitely something to cry about should that happen.

11371

Living Room / Re: Has the LHC destroyed the world yet?

« Last post by 40hz on September 11, 2008, 01:42 PM »

My guess is that they in fact know that creating a by-product in the form of a black hole is very unlikely but possible. But admitting it would be a bye-bye to the LHC experiments and the Higgs boson, so they just keep it a Polichinelle's secret.

-TPReal (September 11, 2008, 11:37 AM)

Yes indeed! But hardly in the same league as some earlier assurances given to the public.

Think of such classics as: nuclear reactors being perfectly safe; hydrocarbon emissions and the greenhouse effect actually being beneficial (i.e. forestalling another ice age); all the product safety claims being made about half the pharmaceutical products currently being sold; and slapping the buzzword 'green' on every product and service out there. (Don't laugh - I recently saw a published article that argues that strip mining is, in fact, 'a green technology'! Talk about little known facts! Who would have ever guessed?)

Not only would discussing risk shut a lot of things down, it would also make it a lot harder for all those wonderful corporations to make money. And then where would we be?

I'm not worried about CERN. I won't be afraid of the LHC until some corporation gets its hands on it.

11372

General Software Discussion / Re: List of newbie questions regarding software

« Last post by 40hz on September 11, 2008, 12:23 PM »

re: Voice Recorders

I've finally got my feet wet and opted for Olympus instead of Sony because of their reputation and am considering the DS-50 but it is quite pricey and still no sign of whether it can handle being held by wet hands. What do you think?

-Paul Keith (September 09, 2008, 11:32 PM)

Can't speak from much experience on Olympus since all I own is one of their micro cassette recorders. That being said, I was very happy with it - and still have it. I'll probably give it to my Mom now that I remember I own it. She likes to record things - and cassette tapes are about as complex a bit of tech as she'd be willing to put up with.

I am currently using a Sony ICD-P520. It's been discontinued and superseded by other models. It does what I want it to do, and I got it for something like $25 at my local Staples' close-out counter.

One MAJOR caveat with Sony is their software. They're DRM freaks so their software has some issues when you want to burn files to CD. I guess they're worried about people recording a Brittany Spears concert. You can burn to CD, but it's a major pain.

You also MUST use their software to access recordings on the device. That would have been a showstopper for me if I knew about it beforehand. Unlike a friend's Olympus, this Sony doesn't come up on your PC as a mass storage USB device. So you can't just drag and drop files. Still, for twenty-five bucks I can't really complain. Too much anyway.

I have gotten the 520 moderately wet (rainy day walking) without ill effect. I doubt I'd want to make a habit of it however.

Talking to people I trust, there seems to be a consensus that Olympus products are a much better way to go. That will probably be what I buy when my 520 finally dies or I have some extra money to burn.

Alexis must be quite a gal to be able to mimic a wide range of voices. Haha, that's another thing I might need to search for.

She is, although she doesn't do much in the way of dramatic interpretation. She just reads it back in that precise contralto of hers and I take it from there.

As far as searching, I'd suggest getting one of those tall outdoorsy redhead types. Got me one of those and never regretted it. Look for versatility and performance. The particular model I've have is perfectly at home either in an English saddle, or slamming out some serious blues on her Fender Strat. Goes from zero to Stevie Ray Vaughan in under four seconds flat!

Check what's available in your area. Highly recommended!

.

11373

Living Room / Re: Has the LHC destroyed the world yet?

« Last post by 40hz on September 11, 2008, 10:50 AM »

The final irony is that Switzerland - the country that avoids conflict at all costs - would be responsible for world demolition.

-Carol Haynes (September 11, 2008, 03:53 AM)

And even more ironic, would in all likelihood find a way to turn it to their advantage.

(BTW: shouldn't that read "avoids the appearance of conflict"?)

11374

Living Room / Re: Has the LHC destroyed the world yet?

« Last post by 40hz on September 11, 2008, 10:47 AM »

It has. You are now in a parallel alternate universe exactly like the one you were in before they fired up the LHC.

Unfortunately, due to the relativistic nature of this universe there is absolutely no way of showing that to have happened.

Best not to think about it too much. That way madness lies.

11375

General Software Discussion / Re: List of newbie questions regarding software

« Last post by 40hz on September 11, 2008, 10:37 AM »

... if Wikidpad is confusing I recommend trying that one out because it doesn't require any syntax ...

-Paul Keith (September 11, 2008, 04:40 AM)

so are you saying that you understand technically how to use Wikidpad/wikis, but want to see how it is used ???

Well not technically (I didn't bother to learn the syntax) but basically, yes.

-Paul Keith (September 11, 2008, 05:11 AM)

-tomos (September 11, 2008, 04:44 AM)

Yeah, me too. I am beginning to think I'm the only person in the world that doesn't "get" wikis.

I've read the literature (The Wiki Way et al.). I've played with them. I've set them up for other people. But there's something about the whole wiki concept that I just can't seem to get my head around. Does that make me some kind of control freak?

Maybe somebody who is a wiki-wonk could start a new thread to try and enlighten those of us who frankly admit to being clueless.

(BTW: I wanted to say 'paradigm' instead of concept - but I'd probably be dragged out behind DC headquarters and stoned to death with dead hard drives for uttering that word.)